PARIS: Aztecs' absence affects this bowl

SAN DIEGO — Texas Christian and Louisiana Tech were here. Where
were the fans?

One year after traffic jams clogged Friars Road for the
Poinsettia Bowl, there was room for spectators to roam Wednesday
night.

But at least the local hotels were happy — we guess.

Twelve months following a Poinsettia Bowl featuring San Diego
State and Navy that drew 48,049, the Holiday Bowl's little brother
was back to being just that.

In the younger sibling's seventh offering, TCU defeated
Louisiana Tech 31-24 before an announced crowd of 24,607

Oh, what might have been?

SDSU boosters were bent that the Aztecs didn't get another
Poinsettia invitation. Instead, they were shipped to the New
Orleans Bowl, and to hear them tell it, they were the victim of a
voodoo call that led to a 32-30 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette.

So SDSU is hot and bothered; it stems from a bum penalty and
traveling to New Orleans to absorb it.

Still, TCU is TCU, and in its swan song as a member of the
Mountain West Conference before moving into the Big 12, it graced
Qualcomm Stadium one last time.

Considering what the No. 15 Horned Frogs (11-2) have
accomplished — and their lead in putting the MWC on the national
radar — it's hard to argue with their appearance, especially with
them rallying from a 24-17 fourth-quarter deficit.

Not many know of Louisiana Tech (8-5) of the Western Athletic
Conference, unless you recognize the name Dykes and its connection
with Tech. Sonny Dykes, the Louisiana Tech coach, is the offspring
of Spike Dykes, the former longtime Texas Tech coach.

Not to get technical, but Pops Spikes would have been proud of
Sonny getting a contract extension through 2017 before kickoff.

The Horned Frogs wanted to stretch their season in a BCS bowl,
but that wasn't in the cards. But instead of showing up the
Poinsettia Bowl, it showed up and won.

"It didn't turn out the way we wanted to,'' said Skye Dawson,
who caught the 42-yard go-ahead touchdown with four minutes
remaining. "But we came out with the win, so it's just a blessing
to be here.''

Dawson was the recipient of a Casey Pachall pass — not that
Pachall saw it. He was leveled just when he released the ball and
relied on his ears, not eyes, to learn of Dawson's snag.

"When I heard the fans,'' Pachall said. "The coverage they came
out in, they were bringing everybody trying to get to me, and we
saw it so I checked out of that play and went to something else.
Skye Dawson made a great play.''

"Once I saw the single coverage, I knew I could get by the
guy,'' said Dawson, who had four catches for 85 yards.

TCU's defense held once more, and then let Pachall rush for a
game-killing fresh series when he gained a first down on a
third-down run.

The game was a Texas two-step from being over, and the
celebration started.

This win didn't come with roses, but it was far from all thorns
and Patterson could finally exhale.

"Oh man, it's been a long year,'' he said. "It even started with
a loss against Baylor, but this group has just fought.''

It was Wednesday's final round that the Horned Frogs embraced
and earmarked to call up in 2012.

"It's for the program,'' Patterson said while cradling the
championship trophy. "We got a lot of growing up to do. This wasn't
just about ending this season, but about starting next season.
Obviously, we still got some work to do. We didn't score 50 points
and we didn't shut them out.''

TCU did have three turnovers, which gave the underdog Bulldogs a
chance. But playing in their first bowl game since 2008, they
couldn't distance themselves from TCU.

"I feel like we dominated the first half,'' the Bulldogs' Dykes
said.

It was a pickoff that allowed TCU to tie the score before
halftime. Colby Cameron's pass was intercepted by Greg McCoy and,
five plays later, Ed Wesley ran in from 7 yards for a 10-10
halftime tie.

And if you're scoring at home — does anyone do that anymore? —
that led to the halftime show, which is always a blast. While
Poinsettia Bowl official took grief for snubbing SDSU, don't bust
their chops about the best fireworks show this side of its big
brother, the Holiday Bowl.

And bro, it turned out to be a competitive, exciting game —
especially the final quarter.

Even if some fans might be saying: TCU and who?

"I don't think anybody really expected this to be much of a
game,'' Dykes said. "If you ask most of the national media, they
wouldn't know what state Louisiana Tech was in, probably.''